$4 Cultivated Steak by 2030

South Korean cell-based start-up Seawith has announced it will launch its cultivated steak internationally in the next two...
August 30, 2021 Global news
$4 Cultivated Steak by 2030

South Korean cell-based start-up Seawith has announced it will launch its cultivated steak internationally in the next two years, with an aim to bring its price down to as low as AU$4 per kg by 2030.

Naming its cultivated steak ‘Welldone’, the food tech start-up is in the midst of moving into a production stage after securing funding for research and development in July.

Seawith creates its cultivated steak using 90% of their proprietary seaweed-based culture, and 10% from traditional cell culture media, a technology they say is different as they “harvest from the sea”:

“The scaffolding we have developed is based on seaweed, so as to hold the bovine cells that will grow into the steak as well as allow nutrients to penetrate deeper into the resulting tissue culture,” explained Seawith Chief Technology Officer Heejae Lee.

According to Lee, by the end of the decade, Seawith will be able to bring down costs of its cultivated steak, when he predicts the culture media will be created 100% from its proprietary  microalgae seaweed — which he says is cheaper to produce than traditional culture media.

“By 2030, we aim to make 1 kilo of meat for less than $3 [AU $4] per kilo  – this is definitely doable once we get the technology right”, said Lee.

The company says it is hoping to register its product as a novel food in South Korea despite local challenges, while also looking to launch in foreign markets such as the United States and Singapore.

READ MORE: Three is the magic number: South Korea’s Seawith targets cultured seak at US$3/kg by 2030  [Food Navigator Asia]

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